Despite years of reform efforts, U.S. student performance has shown little improvement. Now more than ever, policy makers and practitioners from the federal government to the classroom need scientifically based evidence to help them develop policies that lead to improved student performance. But such evidence, let alone clear frameworks for assessing policy choices, has proven difficult to come by. Stanford is uniquely positioned to fill this gap.

Stanford's Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA), a new independent research hub, draws on the interdisciplinary expertise of nationally prominent scholars to provide the scale of research needed to inform education policy. Their scientific research zeroes in on some of the most pressing K–12 issues, from education finance and governance to the needs of English-language learners to issues that affect teachers and educational leadership. CEPA's rigorous inquiry is aimed directly at improving education for all students.

CEPA will expand Stanford's commitment to education policy analysis by attracting the brightest researchers and training the next generation of leading analysts. The center will sponsor an ongoing program of preeminent visiting scholars, policy makers, and practitioners, and will actively disseminate findings to those on the front lines of K–12 reform. The synergy of CEPA's diverse perspectives and methodologies promises to yield some of the most substantive, objective, and innovative education policy research in the nation.